Absorbent articles having defined core regions and chassis regions are supposed to have a comfortable fit about the wearer. For pant articles like pant diapers, sanitary pants and incontinence pants it is also desirable that the articles are capable of being pulled up and down over the hips of the wearer to allow the wearer or caregiver to easily put on and remove the article when it has been soiled. It is known to make such absorbent pants with elasticized stretchable side portions and waist portion, usually comprising elastic members, such as elastic threads, contractably affixed between the backsheet and the topsheet.
It is further known to make portions of the chassis of absorbent articles of an elastic material, such as stretch-bonded laminates. Such laminates may include a layer of meltblown elastomeric fibers which have been stretched and sandwiched between outer layers of spunbonded webs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,245 discloses an extensible outer cover for an absorbent article which provides a certain permanent deformation when subjected to a tensile force. The extensible outer cover comprises a necked laminate in the form of one layer of a necked non-elastic film and one layer of an elastic film. The films may be breathable.
WO 03/047488 discloses an elastic laminate comprising an elastic film which on opposite sides is bonded to first and second non-elastic fibrous layers. The laminate is made by bonding the non-elastic fibrous layers to the elastic film layer and subsequently stretching the composite material, causing the non-elastic materials to break. The elastic film material may be of a breathable material. The laminate may be incorporated in an absorbent article.
US 2004/0243086 discloses a disposable pant-like undergarment having stretchable front and back portions, for example made of an elastic laminate. An absorbent assembly is secured to the front and back portions.
Further examples of absorbent articles which in part are made of elastic laminates are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,289 and JP 10043235.
International applications PCT/SE2004/001004, PCT/SE2004/001005 and PCT/SE2004/001415 refer to absorbent articles comprising an outer coversheet in the form of an elastic laminate having improved properties such as cloth-like feel and appearance.
To obtain good fit, improved comfort and security against leakage, it is important that absorbent articles have dimensions which match the relative dimensions of the wearer. The relative dimensions of the article are also important, so that the components or regions of the article are not excessively large or small relative to each other. The overall dimensions of the article and relative dimensions of its components may also be adjusted so as to obtain an article with a more pant-like appearance. Elastic materials may be used to improve fit, but these are often expensive, so a need exists for articles which are elastic in those parts where elasticity is important, yet may comprise (cheaper) inelastic material in those parts where elasticity is less important. The correct choice of elastic and inelastic materials must be made for the different components or regions of the article, thus balancing the interests of economy and good fit of the article. Furthermore, the elastic properties of the elastic web materials used in the construction of the article must be preserved wherever possible.
There is still need for improvement of the properties of absorbent articles comprising an elastic web material, such as an elastic laminate, particularly their fit and appearance. The comfort and soft feel of absorbent articles of the above-mentioned type is also important. Furthermore, improvements in manufacturing methods allow manufacturing costs to be kept to a minimum, which is important for disposable articles, as they are discarded after a single use.